He had sold a kidney to buy an iPhone, he is now handicapped

He was ready for anything to buy the latest mobile phone model from Apple in 2011. Nine years later, he is disabled for life at only 25 years. The British press (see here) reports the case of a young Chinese man, named Wang, who lives in a bed and on dialysis eight years after making a crazy move: selling a kidney to buy an iPhone.

The facts go back to 2011: Wang is still a teenager. He wanted to "show off" with his friends and, for this, came into contact with intermediaries on QQ, a Chinese instant messaging platform, who offered him money against one of his kidneys. According to CCTV, the operation took place soon after in a clandestine clinic in Chenzhou (south-east of the country) and the young Wang received in return the sum of 22,000 yuan, or 2,800 euros. The kidney was sold ten times more expensive to an individual looking for a transplant.

The young Wang bought an iPhone 4 and an iPad 2, products that few Chinese could afford at the time. It is the mother of the teenager who, finding that his son had expensive appliances, who asked him how he found the money. Hearing the unusual response given by the young man, she called the police. Five men will be sentenced in this case: three intermediaries who will receive three to five years in prison, and two doctors practicing these operations who will be sentenced to three years in prison.

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Wang will see his health deteriorate rapidly. He will suffer from kidney failure and will become disabled, living at the expense of his family and welfare. He had to give up his studies. On October 31, 2016, Apple announced that the iPhone 4 will no longer be supported or repaired, to make room for new generations of mobile to apple. The company's latest addition, the iPhone XR, was released in October 2018.